Harvesting The Fruits of Contemplation

Thank God for the gift of Father Mark at Vultus Christi !, who recently reminded us: “There is nothing…as compelling as the sight of a priest in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. In an age of locked churches, of churches opened only for ‘services’ … it is a rare thing. And yet, there is no more effective way of communicating to souls the truth about the Most Holy Eucharist.” (See his full post - When A Priest Adores here ) I certainly concur with the good Father and thank him for both translating and then sharing this excerpt of a November 1855 letter from the Bishop of Lucon to Virginie Danion:

If you have not yet encountered the Person to whom our beloved Pontiff is referring, a good place to seek Him is before the Blessed Sacrament-  provided you do so with an open mind and heart and on your knees ..

Pondering Tidbits of Truth is my simple and inadequate way of providing nuggets of spiritual wisdom for you to chew on from time to time. St. Maria Faustina Kowalska "I must take no heed of the opinion of others, but obey  the evidence of my own conscience and take God to be the witness of all my actions. I must do everything and act in all matters now as I would like to do and act at the hour of my death. For this reason, in every action I must be mindful of God. (From Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska )

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) "My heart feels as if it were being drawn by a superior force each morning just before uniting with Him in the Blessed Sacrament. I have such a thirst and hunger before receiving Him that it's a wonder I don't die of anxiety. I was hardly able to reach the Divine Prisoner in order to celebrate Mass. When Mass ended I remained with Jesus to render Him thanks. My thirst and hunger do not diminish after I have received Him in the Blessed Sacrament, but rather, increase steadily. Oh, how sweet was the conversation I held with Paradise this morning. The Heart of Jesus and my own, if you will pardon my expression, fused. They were no longer two hearts beating but only one. My heart disappeared as if it were a drop in the ocean."  (St. Pio of Pietrelcina as quoted by Missionaries of the Blessed Sacrament )

Feeling down, overburdened? Take your mind off your troubles and turn your heart towards the most powerful Holy Spirit! Thanks to Edward S for sharing this video today!

How do you teach a young child about life: adjusting to a new home and school, family,   making friends, overcoming adversity, prayer, patience, persistence, and trust in God? If you are Virginia Lieto, you write Finding Patience , the first in a planned series of children’s books on the virtues, taking care to construct a story filled with real life characters and colorful, eye-catching and thought provoking illustrations and images. This is a fantastic book – and the type our children so sorely need in today’s confused and misguided world.   I have already ordered a copy for my granddaughter. She will love it! Order your copy today.

Have you ever wondered what Jesus might be thinking as He gazes through the locked tabernacle doors at those sitting in the pews in front of Him...? I  have. You can listen to my musings here

Our continued thanks to Allison Gingras and Elizabeth Riordan for inviting Catholic bloggers re-post their favorite articles on “It’s Worth Revisiting” Wednesdays! Go there now (and every Wednesday) and let these authors bless and challenge you in your Faith journey.     During the rest of the week, visit Allison at Reconciled To You and Elizabeth at Theology Is A Verb.    This is my offering for the week:  Reflection on John’s Gospel – Do You Really Want To Get Well? (Image source: Wikimedia Commons ) Did you notice in [today’s] Gospel (John 5:1-16) that the paralytic did not answer Jesus’ question: “Do you want to get well?” Instead, he complained and whined about the injustice of not having anyone to put him into the healing waters of the pool once they were “stirred up”. In not answering the specific question posed to him, this paralyzed man was much like many of us. One of the most difficult things I could get my clients to...

“As the sanctity and merit of our actions depends on the motive and spirit with which they are actuated, the practice of the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, however holy, would be of little use, unless it were animated with the spirit and the motive which                    gives it all its value. This motive, as we have said, is to repair, as far as possible, by our love, our adoration, and by every kind of homage the indignities and outrages which Jesus Christ has endured, and still daily endures, in the most Blessed Sacrament. It is in this spirit, and in these sentiments, the devotion should be practiced.”                                     (From De...

No surprise - our world is in utter chaos and confusion.  Conduct that has always been deemed morally wrong is now proclaimed right and woe to those who have the audacity to disagree.  More tears and public angst fill our airwaves and cyberspace over an American dentist who killed a lion in a wild life preserve, whales that beach themselves on our shores, or the callous destruction of baby swan eggs than the brutal dismemberment and murder of human life encased within a mother's womb or the subsequent sale of their body parts. We refuse to recognize the child in utero as a person whose life is protected under both God's law and our Constitution, yet think nothing of trying to convince a Court to extend constitutional protection and rights to animals or to rule that it is preferable for farms and humans to go without water than to disrupt the habitat of some snail. Let us pray that we will come to our senses, while we still have time to do so, and reorient our...

Look at what Virginia Lieto had to say about my book I Thirst for Your Love : “If you have ever wanted to know more about Our Lord Jesus Christ exposed in a monstrance, and referred to as Our Blessed Sacrament, then this book is for you. …I highly recommend taking this book to Adoration and reading it in Christ’s Presence. The prayers in the Appendices can be recited over and over, at each visit. This book is a gem!” Read her full review here .

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) Pondering Tidbits of Truth is my simple and inadequate way of providing nuggets of spiritual wisdom for you to chew on from time to time. St. Maria Faustina Kowalska "From today on, my own will does not exist…From today on, I do the will of God everywhere, always and in everything." (From D iary of St. Maria Faustina )

Once again we thank Allison Gingras and Elizabeth Riordan for inviting Catholic bloggers re-post their favorite articles on “It’s Worth Revisiting” Wednesdays.   Go there now (and every Wednesday) and let these authors bless and challenge you in your Faith journey.   During the rest of each week visit Allison at Reconciled To You and Elizabeth at Theology Is A Verb . You will enjoy your time there. My contribution follows:   The Price For Our Ingratitude   I went to my parish yesterday for morning Mass after having just returned from an extended family visit over Easter. When I arrived, I discovered there would be no weekday Masses as our pastor was on retreat. Good for Father; unfortunate for me. Had I known in advance, I would have attended Mass elsewhere. It was too late to drive to any of the other nearby parishes. In preparation for Mass today, I read the Gospel (one of my favorite passages) and thought to myself: “How m...

Oh, that we might follow St. Claire's example of unwavering belief in the power of the Eucharist! Visit here for a quick summary of this great saint's fortitude and faith in her Eucharistic Lord.

“And Jesus answering, said: ‘Were not ten [lepers] made clean? And where are the nine ?Is there is no one found to return and give glory to God, but this stranger?’  (Photo©Michael Seagriff) In the world, we cannot endure ingratitude. It is only when God is in question that we do not concern ourselves about being ungrateful. This wonderful cure, this miracle, had been extended to ten persons, and of them all, one only was found who thanked his Benefactor.

(Photo©Michael Seagriff) Last week I suggested that our individual and collective loss of any sense of sin and the moral decline in our current culture might well be attributed to our failure and reluctance to ponder the Passion, Sufferings and Death of Our Lord.  If you missed that short post you can find it here. In thinking further about this point, I recalled reading an excerpt some time back from an an article in an old issue of  The Sacred Heart Messenger, entitled "The Guilty One".   This compelling reflection may explain our reluctance to spend time at the foot of Christ's Cross . I hope it, and the words of Monsignor Hugh F. Blunt which it quotes, will provide additional fruit for your contemplation : "And we - who are we? - We are the ones who murdered her [Mary's] Son. That is another fact we too often forget! It was just after we had spiked Him to His deathbed and just before He died that He made the bequest [Son, beh...

Shameful, is it not, that some within our Church have misrepresented the teachings of the Vatican II Council by discouraging Catholics from meditating on the Passion and Sufferings of Our Lord and Savior - describing such ancient pious practice as morbid and archaic for our times.  Look around and see what fruits that poor and inaccurate advice have produced. Then read what Jesus told St. Faustina:

Thank you Allison Gingras and Elizabeth Riordan for inviting Catholic bloggers re-post their favorite articles on “It’s Worth Revisiting” Wednesdays.      Go there now (and every Wednesday) and let these authors bless and challenge you in your Faith journey.     During the rest of each week visit Allison at Reconciled To You and Elizabeth at Theology Is A Verb . You will enjoy your time there.    St. John Marie Vianney and Our Priests (Originally posted on 8/14/14) (Image Source: Wikipedia ) Yesterday, we commemorated the feast day of St. John Marie Vianney - the patron Saint for parish priests. This holy priest loved the Eucharist. He knew that all of us - priests, religious and laity - had to make It the center of our daily existence.  Here are samples of his wisdom. "There is nothing, so great as the Eucharist. If God had something more precious, He would have given it to us."

St. Mary's - Baldwinsville, NY -Photo©Michael Seagriff After this [Jesus telling His followers that he who feeds on His flesh and drinks His blood has eternal life] many of His disciples went back and walked no more with Him. Then Jesus said to the twelve: Will you also go away ? This question came from a Heart so inflamed with love, and was in itself so strong a proof of excessive tenderness, that it could not fail to oblige those, to whom it was directed, to love Jesus Christ yet more ardently. It had also all the effect that this Divine Savior desired; and this increase of fervor in the Apostles, consoled Him a little, for the affliction He felt, at the departure of those who had forsaken Him. Jesus Christ often asks us the same question, and for the same reason. How happy should we be, if it had the same effect!

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) As we bemoan the apparent disintegration of the moral fiber and structure of this once great nation, we most recognize our own significant contributions to this tragic outcome - remaining silent in the face of evil, reluctance and fear to teach and defend the Truth, misguided tolerance of conduct offensive to God (such as not valuing the dignity of all human life from conception to natural death) and the poor example of cowardly and Faithless lives. Having said this, we must not wallow in embarrassment and self-pity over our failures. 

There are still Catholics (albeit their numbers are dwindling) who attend Mass on Sunday, even though some of them often complain that Mass is boring and/or that they get nothing out of it.  Let me ask two questions. (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) When was the last time you really looked at a crucifix? I mean really gazed at one and pondered the realities it depicts. When was the last time you went to Mass and reminded yourself that you were about to spend time at the foot of Jesus' cross? If you have never done either of theses exercises or it has been some time since you did,  take a few minutes today to read and meditate on the following reflections of Father Raymond and author John Lynch. Then when you next go to Church, arrive a few minutes earlier than normal. Gaze upon the crucifix and recall what is about to take place at the Altar of Sacrifice.  “You have never looked upon a crucifix and seen what the early Christians saw...